Eagles Beat: RB Wendell Smallwood may be odd man out

Nov 06, 2017

Speaking at the podium on Monday, head coach Doug Pederson revealed that the team only dressed five running backs against the Broncos because of the injury to tight end Zach Ertz.

Assuming Ertz is back in Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys, and in all likelihood he will be, that means the team will only be dressing four running backs—and it seems pretty clear that Wendell Smallwood will be the odd-man out.

Smallwood spent most of the team's win over the Broncos on the bench, as he as on the field for just six snaps -- all of which came once the game was essentially over. The three running backs ahead of him on the depth chart, LeGarrette Blount (16), Jay Ajayi (17) and Corey Clement (28) all played considerably more than Smallwood did.

Related players: Kenjon Barner

Fantasy Impact:

Barner played less than Smallwood but is a major part of the special teams unit, so it seems Smallwood would be inactive once Ertz returns, which could be Week 11 after the team's bye this week. Smallwood's fantasy value looked good for a while when it was thought he'd replace Darren Sproles, but now it seems there are too many other backs ahead of him on the depth chart.

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Chargers set to open window for RB J.K. Dobbins (knee)

Daniel Popper on X

0 minutes ago

Chargers will be opening J.K. Dobbins' 21-day window today, Jim Harbaugh tells reporters.

Related players: Gus Edwards

Fantasy Impact:

Dobbins has been on IR for the past four games with a knee injury. He's not a lock to play this week and he's not a lock for a safe workload even if he does play. The Chargers travel to New England in Week 17, so the matchup isn't a bad one. It's an early window game on Sunday, so owners should have plenty of notice. We'll also keep an eye on the practice reports this week.

Dolphins unsure of WR Jaylen Waddle's (knee) status for Week 17

Barry Jackson on X

5 minutes ago

McDaniel non-committal on whether Jaylen Waddle (knee) will practice this week: "I'm expecting to get everything from Waddle that he can do... I've [talked to] the trainer to make sure we protect him from himself. We will see how the week progresses. I don't know exactly what it will look like."

Fantasy Impact:

Waddle owners should probably not count on Waddle for Week 17, or at the very least have a backup plan. Waddle and the Dolphins play the Browns in the later window on Sunday so it could further complicate things for owners who were hoping to play him.

Texans WR Tank Dell tore ACL, dislocated knee

DJ Bien-Aime on X

9 minutes ago

DeMeco Ryans says WR Tank Dell tore his ACL along with dislocating his knee.

Fantasy Impact:

No surprises here as it was a terrible injury to watch during the game. While he's obviously out for the season, the bigger question is what will his status be for 2025. It's a huge question mark at this point given the seriousness of the injury. Even if Dell is able to play next season, he may take a while to get back to 100%.